


Lifting the Corners

by sleeperswake



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Stargate Universe
Genre: Character building, F/M, Romance, relationship building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-07
Updated: 2013-04-06
Packaged: 2017-12-07 17:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/751179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeperswake/pseuds/sleeperswake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle expected an ordinary life until she became involved in the Stargate Program. What she really didn't expect was getting stranded in space and befriending Nicholas Rush of all people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lifting the Corners

_Screaming. Darkness. But she was alive, and for that, she was grateful. There was a pain forming at the side of her head and as she touched her palm to the side, warm blood coated her hand. She cried out for help, looking back and forth, but others were in the same condition. The light from the Stargate illuminated the surrounding area, and as she lifted her eyes, she saw_ him, _standing as if he was God and they were his subjects. Then her vision blackened, and her body fell limp against the floor._

 

X

 

“I would like to offer you a job, Miss French. However, it’s rather far away from here and strictly confidential. You’ll find all the details enclosed in this packet. Please call when you’ve made your decision, my business card is at the top.”

 

“I, uh…” Belle stammered, taking hold of the large envelope, inspecting the contents. A logo with the name ‘Icarus’ emboldened the front. She glanced tentatively back up to Dr. Rush who stood with an uncomfortable smile.

 

He just showed up at her door just as she was about to unwind for the day, and she initially wanted to pretend she wasn’t home. His semi professional appearance made her reconsider, but she was beginning to regret giving him her time. 

 

“Are there any other questions?” He inquired patiently, shifting his sunglasses slightly. Belle craned her neck to the side of him, noticing a military officer in the driver’s seat of the car he pulled up in.

 

“Is this a government job? Because I think you have the wrong girl, Dr. Rush. I’m a crop science major, hydroponics to be more precise, and I have absolutely no experience with governmental policy, not to mention I recently graduated---“

 

“From Berkeley, yes, I know. I’m a colleague of Professor Hartford, he spoke very highly of you and your recent research.”

 

Belle’s cheeks colored at the mention of her project, which had been recently recognized by a reputable science magazine. It was far from being complete, but she was comforted that she was on the right path with some credibility under her belt.

 

“Please be rest assured that there is no mistake, Miss French.” He checked his watch with mild disdain. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend to. Once again, please give us a call once your decision is made, whether it be an acceptance or rejection. Good day, Miss French.”

 

And with that, he departed into the car, muttering how he was not Icarus’ messenger boy, and slammed the door shut. Belle retreated back into her house and opened the contents of the envelope. She started with the cover letter, pacing in her kitchen as she read it aloud.

 

“Dear Miss French, we are pleased to welcome you to the Icarus Base. Your work has intrigued our personnel and it would be our pleasure to invite you to work alongside our staff…” She yawned, blinking back exhaustion. She already had a job offer via Professor Hartford, and the interview was scheduled for next week. It was desirable—not too far from home, decent pay to support herself and her father.

 

She continued to read, eyes scanning the page, until her heart dropped, wondering if she understood what was written. “Please note that this is a long term job, and visitations to Earth will be limited. It should also be understood that this is considered a governmental job, and the highest form of secrecy is to be expected.”

 

Her heart raced, and she began to rapidly flip through the papers containing basic information on the job description, believing it to be some sort of practical joke.

 

Papers flew haphazardly from the table until a business card flew to the side, and Belle caught it, beginning to scrutinize the object.

 

‘Dr. Nicholas Rush, Head of Science, Icarus Base,’ it read, and Belle trailed her fingers along the raised text until her eyes found the phone number. Grabbing her cell, she quickly dialed with uneasiness.

 

“Hello, this is Dr. Rush’s secretary. How may I help you?”

 

Belle’s voice caught in her throat. Carefully, “May I speak to Dr. Rush? This is Belle French, a potential employee,” she said slowly, and she heard a keyboard click on the other side.

 

“Dr. Rush is in a meeting at the moment, but it will end shortly. I’ll let him know as soon as he’s finished.”

 

“Thank you,” Belle replied quickly, and the line disconnected. She placed her phone on the table, glaring at it accusingly. It was simple. If he didn’t call back, it was a prank and she would move on from this immaturity. She was a grown up,and she wouldn’t be bothered by this.

 

A half an hour later, Belle was finished pouring through the papers they gave her, and he still hadn’t called back. A silly part of her hoped this was real; their studies were fascinating and extended beyond what she could’ve possibly imagined.

 

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” she said aloud to herself, quoting _Hamlet_ as a smile peeked from the corners of her lips.

 

Sample pictures of plants were attached, followed by a description of its habitat and growth. She would have loved to believe it if it weren’t for the fact each location was a different planet with atmospheres far from habitable.

 

With a resigned sigh, she collected the papers into a neat stack ready to be thrown into the trash. However, it was past dinnertime and the growl from her stomach urged her to eat, so cooking came first.

 

It wasn’t until another hour later that her phone rang. Lost in the sound of the TV and fan of the stovetop, she only noticed it when she walked past. Heart leaping, she picked it up with a breathy, “Hello?” and exited the kitchen to a quieter area.

 

“Miss French,” came the terse reply, and she remembered Dr. Rush’s unmistakable Scottish accent.

 

“Doctor Rush,” she confirmed, wiping away some flyaway hair. He sounded irritated over the phone, and despite her reservations, she didn’t want to upset the man.

 

“I—“

 

“Have you decided?” He began, not waiting to hear the rest of her sentence.

 

“Is this a joke?” She replied, blunter than she meant. He chuckled from the other side.

 

“Do I need to give you a tour before you decide? I can beam you up into my spaceship and we’ll be on our way.”

 

Eyebrows furrowing, Belle suddenly grew angry, half tempted to slam the phone in his ear. “This isn’t funny. You know what? Forget it, I hope you got a nice laugh. Thanks for wasting my time.“

 

She could practically hear his eye roll in the next sentence. “Miss French, please step outside your front door and I promise your time will not be wasted.”

 

“Yeah, okay,” she snapped, too irritated to notice the burning smell emanating from her kitchen. “You just want me to go outside so you can kidnap me or something.”

 

Rush seemed at his wits end as he ordered, “Just go outside, Miss French,” with a curled lip.

 

He was a good actor; she had to hand it to him. With another retort on the tip of her tongue, the smoke alarm blared, causing her to almost drop her phone.

 

“Shit!” She cried, realizing she left her meal cooking far too long. Coughing, she turned off the flame and wiped away the smoke, revealing a blackened piece of meat.

 

“Miss French?!” Dr. Rush yelled into the phone, and she almost forgot she was talking to him. Deciding to let in some fresh air, she opened her front door, and her scream caught in her throat as a silver light enveloped her.

 

“I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything,” Dr. Rush said wryly, inspecting her frenzied state.

 

“It wasn’t anything, I just left some food burn—Wait, is that Earth?!” She exclaimed, dashing to the observatory deck, clinging to the bar with fascination.

 

“No way…” She breathed, and Dr. Rush joined her.

 

“That is indeed Earth. You’re on the George Hammond, Miss French. Say hello to the Icarus Base, located in the Milky Way.” He turned her to the window opposite Earth, and she gasped.

 

It was another planet; it had to be from the sheer size. Her feet quickly carried her to the other side of the viewing room, hoping to get a better look, and excitement rose in her chest as they descended.

 

“I’m not dreaming?” She whispered, turning to him and he simply nodded his head.

 

“Remarkable, isn’t it? And think—there’s so much more out there. Our Milky Way is a drop in the bucket.”

 

Belle could only make a small noise of affirmation as they descended to the Icarus base. Rush guided her quickly through after passing several security checks, and she had to keep herself from staring too long or else she’d fall behind. But there was so much to see, so much to do, and so much to _learn_. While walking to their destination, she caught snippets of conversation that exceeded far beyond her understanding and she wished she could stop for a moment to simply observe.

 

They came to a room labeled ‘Hydroponics,’ and Rush gave a quick knock against the door more out of habit than courtesy as they entered.

 

“This is our hydroponics lab. All of the files I enclosed to you and more are located here. Please, take a look.”

 

The room was white and several workers were stationed over worktables performing experiments. Only a few looked up to see their visitors, some nodding to Rush in acknowledgement, others curious. One of the men came up to Belle and guided her to his workstation that was sealed in airtight glass.

 

“This plant doesn’t actually live off of carbon dioxide. The planet that it’s native to has extremely low levels, so it managed to adapt to another gas entirely, a gas which would be toxic on Earth. We’re trying to see how well it can reproduce in our lab and explore the possibilities of it here.”

 

Belle prodded him with questions, some about the experiments others about the Icarus base in general, and Rush finally decided to intervene.

 

“Time is a bit short, are you done here, Miss French?”

 

“No!” She responded with disdain. Thirst lit in her eyes; the thirst for knowledge and her earlier fatigue had all been forgotten. Rush simply smiled, recognizing that look and he directed her out of the laboratory to speak.

 

It only took five minutes for her to agree to the job.

 

X

That was the last time she personally spoke to Dr. Rush. He spent most of his time with the other scientists in his department, and even after a month, she only had a vague understanding of what they were trying to accomplish. She soon learned about the Stargate; it’s ability to travel throughout the universe, the Ancients that built them, and how this was all possible.

 

In light of her new situation, Belle still had time for family and normal life. Despite the distance away from home—she always got a bit of a laugh when people asked where she worked—she was able to return home at least three times a week, and that was enough to keep her father from asking too many questions.

 

She had joked to Rush that if she didn’t take the job they would wipe her memory, and he agreed with a deadpan expression, making Belle slightly pale at the notion.  She wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she let all of this knowledge go. It was monumental, and now ordinary life seemed so boring she couldn’t stand looking at her own research.

 

She now realized how narrow-minded her ideas were and the infinite possibilities that were out there. She was shown a plant that utilized moonlight instead of sunlight due to the intensity each, but only possible on a certain planet, and that was just scratching the surface of her new information.

 

The phrase, “You learn something new every day” had stuck with her since she was a child, but she never would have imagined _this_. The web of knowledge that was thrown upon her in this short time never failed to excite her, and with each day, her new life grew.

 

She made several new friends—many of them forgone sleep in the name of science, so they would be up at strange hours—and the fascination they had with her work both puzzled and flattered her at the same time. Some were at least ten years her senior, but spoke to her as if they were old colleagues.  

 

Sometimes they would just talk and share theories, and the conversations didn’t stay within the lab. They would always be talking, whether in the dining hall or preparing for bed, the number of different ideas that flew past was immeasurable and it left Belle with a smile on her face each time she slept.

 

It was two and a half months later when Belle’s routine was interrupted.

 

Dr. Hunter blazed through the door with ragged breathing as he shouted, “They’ve discovered the ninth chevron!”

 

Everyone stopped what they were doing, and Belle removed her goggles from her face to her forehead. “Seriously?” She asked, and Dr. Hunter nodded in return, fervently.

 

“Eli Wallace. That’s the name of the guy who figured it out, and Dr. Rush is bringing him here to show him!”

 

Silence passed through the team, none of them recognizing the name, and Belle had always thought it’d be Dr. Rush who would have figured it out. The silence eventually broke as people began to gossip, and Belle returned to her workstation as she strapped her goggles back on. If there was any more news, she would hear it, so there was no point in getting excited yet.

 

Hours later, the shaking and screaming began. Startled, Belle and the rest of the team exited the lab only to discover they were under attack and that everyone was to be evacuated immediately. Panic was rising in not only the civilians, but the military as well, as they ushered them out of the corridor and into another, shouting to head to the gate room.

 

“The planet’s core is reaching critical levels to the point where it could very well explode,” one of her colleagues noted as they ran to the gate room, Belle having only been there twice.

 

Another explosion shook the area, causing the roof they just exited to cave in, leaving some people trapped under. Belle cried out, turning back to uncover them from the rubble, but a soldier pulled her away and urged them on. Fear gripped her as she continued, tears beginning to form in her eyes. They would make it, she told herself. The soldiers would get them out.

 

When she reached the room, followed by others, they were met with an active Stargate and an angry scientist. “There is no other choice, this entire base and everyone in it is going to be destroyed!” Rush yelled, pointing to Stargate. “That is our only hope, so I suggest we begin evacuation now!”

 

Colonel Young (Belle had met him briefly on her first day) gave him the go, telling everyone to leave in three second intervals. Another crash was felt, and more panic set in as people began to push each other to get into the Stargate.

 

“Belle, hurry!” One of her colleagues pulled at her sleeve as they got on line to enter the Stargate, but the pushing and shoving quickly expedited it.

 

Almost as if numb from the turn of events, Belle lurched forward into the Stargate, expecting something to the effect of a rollercoaster, but the sensation never arrived, and instead, there was pain. 

**Author's Note:**

> While I have so many ideas for this fic, I'm a little wary of posting/continuing with it. Mostly because I've never done a crossover pairing (never thought I would until I read all of the amazing stories on here!), and I've only seen SGU so my facts will probably be a bit off. (In other words, taking a lot of creative license which can be a both good and bad thing) This will be more of an introspective look on SGU and Rush, and how Belle will fit into the canon.


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